Name: Underworld
ISBN: 9780545040631

Meg Cabot

John Hayden, a death deity, takes seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera back to the Underworld against her will to keep her safe from the Furies, but her family is still at risk and she, herself, may never escape his captivity.

Underworld

Abandon (Abandon #1)

chloe rae

2.5 stars? 3? I don't know.
I'm so confused on how I feel about this book. Like, super confused.
Because I kind of liked it but then I kind of didn't? It's weird.
I LOVE Meg Cabot. I feel like I grew up reading her books. She's hilarious and her romances are usually so sweet and endearing and steamy. I was really excited to finally get around to reading this book. I've had it on my TBR for YEARS and I felt the time was finally right.
However, this book was just odd. I really liked the idea but she executed it weird, or at least I feel like she did. I really liked the main character and how she cares for animals and people but she was so annoying sometimes. And I had the same problem with the love interest. I really liked him at some parts, but at the end and in certain moments, he just confused me. He was rude but then nice and she hated him but then liked him?
Also, this book's set up is strange. It doesn't really have a climax, unless you count a small part at the end. Is the end supposed to be the climax? The first half of the book is just explaining everything that's happened to her, in flash-backs and more explanation.
The even weirder thing though is that I didn't really mind all of this that much. I still enjoyed the book. I didn't LOVE the book by any means but I am anxious to see what happens next. I just hope it's better than this one.

Thais Souza Passos

I LOVED EVERY BIT OF THIS BOOK! The legend of Persefone and Hades, the underworld, every little detail! Thank you Meg Cabot, for this amazing book <3

Kirsten Simkiss

Friends, spare yourselves. This book is getting 1 star from me.

The main character is a 17 year old girl named Pierce and she’s trying not to fall for the manager of her Underworld, John, who appears to be about 19 and will never age. And there is absolutely zero chemistry between them, friends. Seriously, I cannot stress enough how dysfunctional and weird their relationship was. They didn’t even flirt. It was super awkward and creepy.

Meg Cabot, the author, kind of picked what she wanted out of Greek mythology and then threw the rest to the wind. Honestly, I’m not sure you can really count this as a retelling of the Persephone story. Practically nothing is the same at all.

Everyone was really cagey about really stupid things. It was a lot like reading a soap opera book. Even the narrator, Pierce, holds out on you in the first few chapters. 

Honestly, I don’t think this has much going for it. I’m not going to recommend this book to anyone because there are vastly superior paranormal romance stories out there.

Last year, Pierce died - just for a moment. And when she was in the space between life and death, she met John: tall dark and terrifying, it's his job to usher souls from one realm to the next. There's a fierce attraction between them, but Pierce knows that if she allows herself to fall for John she will be doomed to a life of shadows and loneliness in the underworld. But now things are getting dangerous for her, and her only hope is to do exactly what John says . . .

Abandon

Catarina Vieira

Epá 2 estrelas por 6 razões:
1. O livro literalmente acontece em 2 dias.
2. Os protagonistas estão juntos no total umas DUAS HORAS (repartidas em para aí 10 encontros de 12 minutos casa) e já estão muito apaixonados?
3. A intriga no geral é só encher chouriças.
4. Adoro flashback mas não quando num livro de 200 páginas, ocupam 170.
5. NÃO ENTENDO a treta toda do John ser exatamente o Hades, sem ser o Hades.
6. 0 desenvolvimento das poucas personagens secundárias que gostei - Alex, Kayla e Chris principalmente.

Overall, vou ler o segundo por finalmente retratar o mito do sequestro em si, so espero que melhore a narrativa porque a história, no geral, é boa.

Last year, Pierce died - just for a moment. And when she was in the space between life and death, she met John. Tall dark and terrifying, it's his job to usher souls from one realm to the next. There's a fierce attraction between them, which Pierce carries back into our world. But she knows that if she allows herself to fall for John she will be doomed to a life of shadows and loneliness in the Underworld. When things get dangerous for her, her only hope is to do exactly what John says. Can she trust a guy who lives for the dead? Inspired by Greek myth, Abandon is the first in a darkly romantic trilogy from Meg Cabot, creator of The Princess Diaries.

Dina

It was okay.

It wasn't good, sorry. I can't say it was. I mean... The romantic pairing in this just makes no sense to me. They're so hot and cold and suddenly they're together and I'm just "what?". No. Just no.

I used to like Meg Cabot's stuff, but lately... I think I probably grew past the appropriate age of her books' target audience.

There were also two instances near the end where I had to put the book down and look at the sky for a moment or two before picking it back up and continuing.

Examples:

(view spoiler)["'[...]they were angry that the stone wasn't being used by the person for whom it was intended.'
'And who is that?' I asked.
John scowled some more. 'You know perfectly well who. [...] Are you flirting with me?'"

Me: ...what? How was that flirting?!

---

"'[...] I've never rescued a girl I love from the Furies before.' He looked alarmed as he noticed my eyes were filling with tears. 'Don't cry.'
'How can I not?' I asked him. 'You just said you love me.'"

Me: *claws face off* I really thought she was crying because he was telling her she'd have to be imprisoned and away from her family, but she's crying because omg he loves her!!! (hide spoiler)]

Needless to say I won't be continuing this series.

Michelle Boyea

** spoiler alert **
           Very disappointed. I expected better from Meg Cabot. I love her other works. 

This story was strange. So this girl dies, comes back to life, but she makes a death deity fall in love with her. So he ends up abducting her to keep her safe. 

Seriously? 

And her grandmother is actually a fury who is hell bent on killing her because the death deity loves her. 

Okay then. 

The characters are poorly developed, as is the plot. The story line has great potential but I do not have much hope after this first book. 

Here's hoping the second book is better!

Rose

This is a book I picked because I was curious. Who wouldn't with Hades/ Persephone myth? 

Now let me say this, at first I was annoyed with the main character. There where times where I just wanted to throw the book and groan. It was a little all over the place, the narrator I mean and not the books (or trilogy themselves). How sometimes she would hyper focus on some things and disregard others. But that's her character right? So there really isn't much to say about that part. 

Now with that being said, I truly do love this book (as frustrating as the first book was). I've read the trilogy a few times now and it has become my comfort books, my go to books for when I'm sad. I've come to understand the characters more and more as I finished the trilogy so it wasn't so bad.
I found myself laughing and and smiling with this book. I really want more from the Abandon trilogy. 

I consider it a light read because it's short, sweet and to the point. So yes it does have some cons but there some positives too. I enjoyed this book and I hope there will be others too that have enjoyed it.

Alejandra Bran

Whenever I hear about a Hades and Persephone retelling, my first reaction is “take my money”, when someone tells me it’s by Meg Abbot my next reaction is “take all my belongings”. Must confess this story was not what I expected.

By the end of this book, there was so much I wish it was different. That’s how I know, I wasn’t feeling the story. I feel it’s a great idea, but the execution is lacking substance. (Am I making sense?)


I’m reading the next one because I cannot not know, what is going to happen, cross your fingers and maybe the next one redeems the story!

i did not expect to like this so much. 

the main character had a few moments where i was like "what the hell are you doing? where is your brain?" but all in all, it was very enjoyable. and i liked the style it was written in. i've read that a lot of people struggled with the time jumps, but actually i've found it quite intriguing. though, in the beginning i had to go on goodreads, because i thought i'd skipped a book. 

i can't wait to continue with the series. and i've forgotten how much i really love greek mythology. i remember reading the starcrossed series by josephine angelini and loving the mythology so much, i actually picked up ilias (a child version tho) which we read in school, but didn't enjoy at the time. spoiler alert, didn't finish it the second time around either, but who knows? maybe someday i'll get around to finish it.

Siobhán

original post: http://totallybookalicious.blogspot.c...

I have never read a Meg Cabot book in my life (I know where I have been right? ) Her books never really caught my interest. Until I see this one. I thought the cover was stunning and the description sounded so exciting and after reading The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter I was really exciting to reading another Hades and Persphone retelling. However, sadly this book falls flat and left me seriously disappointed.

Usually here is where I add my own little description of the plot of a book. However, this book didn't seem to even have a plot. It basically involves Pierces a young girl who died two years ago and goes to the Underworld but manages escape from John Hayden (ruler of this underworld) by throwing a cup of tea in his face. ?!? I mean eh? John is meant to be ruler of the Underworld, strong and full of power but a 15 year old girl manages to escape by throwing a cup of tea on him I mean come on! 

Abandon seems to take place over like one day but with loads of flashbacks telling us about what happened to Pierce after she came back from the underworld. Pierce OMG, I have never hated a main character so much in my life. She is so annoying. She is one dimensional and just comes across very immature. Here is this guy who loves her wants to spend forever with her and she doesn't even see it until the very end of the book. ARGH!!! John I actually did like him. I would loved to have seen more of him in the book, since he only appears a few times. The book would have worked if it was in his POV i think. He is interesting, powerful and dangerous and kinda yummy. He could have took me to his underworld. I would have gladly stayed lol.

The story itself its very very very slow, boring and very anti climactic. I kept waiting for some awesome thing to happen and makes the story amazing but it never comes. The writing is all over the place. One minute Pierce is talking about something then the next without any warning she does a flashback that has nothing to do with the original point and then doesn't go back to her original point until about 20 pages later. 

However, it was all bad at around page 263 there is an interesting turn of events that was exactly rather good. So for that I probably will pick up book 2 when it comes out just to see if it gets better. 

And even though this book wasnt really for me. I will still read more of Meg's book. I have read so many great things about her work and want to try more. If you like Meg Cabot or retellings please give this book ago. Just because I didn't really like it doesn't mean you won't. :)

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

In the first of the Abandon Trilogy we meet Pierce, a girl who is an NDE, someone who has had a near death experience, who was dead for an hour. Yup, that's right, an hour. And she remembers everything. That is to say, she remembers meeting John, the ruler of the Underworld where souls go to get sorted then shuffled onto a boat that takes them to their final destination.

So, a modern variation of the story of Persephone ([per-sef-uh-nee] because I always have issues pronouncing her name), without the main character actually being Persephone or her replacement.

Okay, so, we will see if this has any spoilers.

Overall, I really liked this book. To the point that the day I finished it I went to the library and got the next book. Seriously, I was hooked. Generally, I really enjoy Meg Cabot's writing style, and this novel didn't disappoint. We were given a heroine who is actually a little different to your average heroine because she died and came back changed, not just because of what she saw, but actual characteristics. She can't focus anymore, she has lost a good chunk of her social skills. She went through dying, so that isn't surprising.

I also love the leading man because he has depth. John is a character who is true to who he is and actually shows himself the way men like him would. Those who are steely and have a background they aren't proud of. Those who are afraid that their new loved ones will leave them if they know the whole truth.

And her father is rich. This is actually an important fact throughout this book (and the following two) as it creates more than one plot point.

I don't like that she knows NOTHING about the myths surrounding the Underworld. You were there. You tried to tell people what you saw. You research facts on NDEs, but you literally didn't look up anything about what happened to you and what it could have been? COME ON PIERCE!

Who will enjoy this book? Romance lovers, mythology lovers, action folks, and urban fantasy lovers. This isn't for someone looking for high fantasy. This isn't for someone looking for a book without romance. Because it's kind of the whole point of the novel. If you don't pick up on that as soon as we meet John, well... yeah.... you may be in for a number of surprises.

Loved this, highly recommend it.

It is a good book for teens or adults, or preteens. Maybe. Maybe, parents, read it first. There isn't anything explicit in any of these books, but they do go far. Just saying.

an Abandon novel

Lacey

Pierce cried way to much in the book for my liking. Overall, a pretty interesting take on the Hades and Persephone myth. Not sure how everything's going to end in the third book.

Bridget Howard

I really enjoyed this book. This is the first book that I have read by Meg Cabot and I will be reading more of her books after this one. This book is a cute retelling of the Hades and Persephone story. I love Greek mythology and it had a fun twist to the tale. It was a really fast easy read and the romance is cute and fun. Pierce (I love this name) is the main character and I found her to be a bit annoying at times, but she becomes more likable as the story goes on. She has a near death experience where she meets John who is the love interest in the book. I will be reading the next book in the series to see how their tale unfolds!!!